Brennan Ward Q&A: Loving Knockouts, Surfing and Girl Scout Cookies

Brennan Ward has long been an integral part of the Bellator MMA roster. His roots with the organization date back to 2012. Since then he has been on both the winning and losing sides of some of the best knockout and submission victories in the mixed martial arts organization’s illustrious history. Ward recently spoke with Tony Reid of MyMMANews.com for a fun question and answer session.

Tony Reid – What is the best thing nobody knows about you?

Brennan Ward – “I love surfing more than I love fighting. I don’t think too many people know that about me.”

TR – Best advice you could give to a younger you?

BW – “I would say to stay out of trouble and train your ass of all day every day. It sucks balls but keep doing it because you will continue to get better and that’s what it’s all about.”

TR – Best inspiration to fight?

BW – “I find inspiration in anybody that is super passionate about what they do. This sport is a grind. It’s tough. We train three or four times a day almost every day. I can get to the point where it becomes a job and you don’t want that. So I look for guys that stay passionate about what they do.”

TR – Best memory from your first fight?

BW – “As a pro it was getting in the cage for the first time in four years. I took a fight at 18 as an amateur. I went pro after that first amateur fight. Stepping in the cage after a four year layoff was a great feeling.”

TR – What was the best moment in your career so far?

BW – “The best moment from my career so far was getting my first win in the Bellator cage. Bellator is considered one of the bigger organizations so that was cool. I knocked the guy out. I knocked him unconscious. Bjorn Rebney came up to me after the fight and told me that I remind him of Michael Chandler. Wow, that meant so much to me.”

TR – Best feeling a knockout or a submission?

BW – “A knockout for sure!”

TR – Best opponent?

BW – “Mikkel Parlo. He had a game plan, man. I tried hip throw, after hip throw, toss after toss. He stopped every one of my throws in the first round. He is a tough kid. I cracked him with a couple punches, a couple of big upper cuts. He has a hard head. So definitely Mikkel Parlo.”

TR – Best way to get pumped before a fight?

BW – “Just thinking about how hard I worked and how much I sacrificed. I fucking deserve to win. I feel like I work harder than everyone I fight. It’s go time. This is the pay off. In the back we are laughing we are listening to music and we are having fun, man. But when it’s time to go it’s time to go.”

TR – Best job before becoming a fighter?

BW – “None of them, man. I made the most money roofing though. We had fun working, working with friends roofing houses.”

TR – Best dinner guests? Three people, past or present, who would they be?

BW – “My grandfather- my dad’s father. I never got to meet him. I hear he was a crazy bastard. Jay Adams, he is a skateboarder. I follow him on Twitter, so to sit down with a pioneer of the sport, someone who is one of the most influential skateboarders of all time that would be great. And then Kala Alexander, he is a Hawaiian surfing legend.”

TR – Best guilty pleasure?

BW – “I eat real clean all week long so one day I have a cheat day and eat an entire box of Girl Scout cookies. A whole entire box.”

TR – Best lesson life has handed you?

BW – “I have been in and out of trouble my whole life. I have seen both sides of it. I have been low, real low. I try to do the right thing. You are not always going to do the right thing but if you honestly try you will find more success than failure in life. I try to do the right thing all the time and hopefully things continue to go my way.”

In July of 2008 Tony Reid launched an MMA inspired clothing line that he named Reid Fight Wear. He saw a need in the MMA clothing market for a more classic, clean and timeless design and less of the dated styles seen then. In the process of major life changes, Tony cashed out his 401(k), emptied his bank account and put his heart and soul into building the brand.

In August 2009 Tony began writing for TapouT and MMA Worldwide Magazines. There he created Rattling the Cage, an MMA specific news site and home for all of his work.

In May of 2012 Reid began writing for Ultimate MMA Magazine, launching an MMA Legends and MMA Officials Series.

Also in May of the same year he started appearing regularly on ESPN 92.3 WVSL as the MMA Insider.

In early August of 2012 Reid was named General Manager of UFC Fighter Tim Boetsch’s Barbarian Combat Sports in Sunbury, PA.

By December 2012 Reid started contributing to Fighters Only Magazine. “The World’s Leading MMA and Lifestyle Magazine” is sold in over 30 countries around the world and has the largest reach of any international magazine of its type.

In May of 2013 Reid became a monthly segment host on Sirius XM Radio. Appearing the first Thursday of every month on TapouT Radio on SiriusXM (Sirius 92 XM 208) in a segment he created called “On Blast!” where he puts people in the MMA world on notice.

In June of 2013 Reid began writing for the UK based MMA Uncaged Magazine.

In August of 2013, Reid launched “Rattling the Cage with Tony Reid” a talk radio show he hosted on ESPN 92.3 WVSL “The Valley’s Sports Leader”. The show aired over 100 episodes and featured some of the biggest and brightest stars in the world of combat sports. It was one of the most successful shows in the station’s history.

In May of 2016 Reid became a feature writer for FloCombat.

In September of the same year Reid began writing for ONE Championship, Asia’s largest global sports media property in history.